This refers to the technologies, processes, and policies used to defend any network, network traffic, and network-accessible assets from cyber-attacks, unauthorized access, and data loss. Every organization, from small businesses to the largest enterprises and service providers, in every industry requires network security to protect critical assets and infrastructure from a rapidly expanding attack surface.
We must protect at the many edges of the network and also inside the network, with a layered approach. Vulnerabilities exist everywhere, from devices and data paths to applications and users. Because organizations encounter so many potential threats, there are also hundreds of network security management tools intended to address individual threats or exploits or assist with other mission-critical infrastructure needs, such as continuous compliance. Organizations should prioritize network security solutions that cover the multitude of threats, using a platform approach that prioritizes integration and automation.
The Importance of Network Security
Today’s threat environment is constantly changing; the frequency, volume, and sophistication of cyberattacks show no signs of slowing down. All organizations require network security because even a minor disruption to network infrastructures—such as a minute of downtime, or a lag in service performance—can cause damage to an organization’s reputation, bottom line, or even long-term viability. Catastrophic cyberattacks, which often begin as seemingly benign intrusions that inadequate network security tools failed to catch, can force organizations to pay crippling fines and even close their doors for good.
Types of Network Security Solutions, Devices, and Tools
A very critical component of network security is a next-generation firewall (NGFW). But to truly protect the network, other technologies are required, and effective security requires a holistic approach that integrates the firewall with other important capabilities. Essentially, to protect an organization’s entire attack surface, a layered approach with managed network security solutions for all areas of the network must work together as an integrated and collaborative security fabric.
Firewalls
Traditional firewalls have been around for decades, and are a standard security product in use by a majority of organizations. But as the threat landscape has evolved, so too has firewall technology. A next-generation firewall (NGFW) moves beyond a traditional firewall’s port/protocol inspection and blocking techniques to add comprehensive application-level inspection, intrusion prevention, and intelligence from sources outside the firewall.
There are many other differences, but one major advance between traditional firewalls and the latest NGFWs is the ability to block malware from entering a network—a major advantage over cyberattacks that older-generation firewalls cannot deliver.
As the business world continues to go digital, there’s a greater need for companies to invest in securing their systems from threats.
Talinda, being an official Fortinet Partner, deals with next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) which are the latest in digital protection, helping to merge the best parts of traditional technology with the new technologies of today to deliver optimal digital protection.